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Thursday, March 29, 2018

Putin is amazing--he must've hacked Rosanne's huge ratings because "insiders" hadn't predicted them and the highest were in places where Trump did best. As in the election, NY and LA weren't big factors. Putin's final gift to "insiders" was to deliver a huge audience of young people to Rosanne's revival

Both Trump and Roseanne were able to tap intothe often overlooked and underserved working-class audience. Not surprisingly, the top TV markets where Roseanne
delivered its highest ratings were in states handily carried by Trump
in the election. No. 1 was Tulsa in Oklahoma, which Trump won with 65.3%
of the vote. It was followed by Cincinnati, Ohio and Kansas City,
Missouri. The only marquee city from a blue state in the Top 10 was
Chicago at No. 5 — the area where the series is set. ABC
focused some of its marketing efforts in the region with a preview of
the revival at the 54th Chicago International Film Festival.

The top market of the country, New York, was not in the Top 20; No. 2 Los Angeles was not in the Top 30. And yet, Roseanne
delivered the highest demo rating for any comedy telecast in 3 1/2
years, since the fall 2014 season premiere of TV’s biggest comedy series
of the past five years, The Big Bang Theory.

There no doubt was an element of nostalgia and curiosity about how
the characters from the original series have changed and about the new
generation of the Conners. But Roseanne went beyond that. Its
youngest 18-49 viewerswhen the series originally aired on ABC from
1988-97 are now at the very top or outside of that ad-friendly
demographic range, in which last night’s premiere posted a staggering
5.2 Live+same day rating with no lead-in. It came largely from new
viewers who were children or not even born during Roseanne‘s initial run.

Somehow Roseanne transcended age, recruiting droves of young
viewers for a show whose two leads, Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, are
both 65, well outside of the 18-49 demo. It tapped into the zeitgeist
of Middle America, tackling its economic problems — and political
leanings — head-on. There was curiosity how Roseanne would
address Trump, which the show did in the first episode. In an
encouraging sign, the novelty did not wear off, withthe second episode
rating even higher than the opener.

ABC did a major marketing campaign for Roseanne, including a
three-day stunt during SXSW in Austin that drew huge crowds, and a
tie-in with NASCAR, which is hugely popular in the flyover states.

ABC

And then there was Barr. Always a firebrand, she did not shy away from controversy,flipping off
Jimmy Kimmel and talking candidly about her political views while
promoting the show, generating a slew of provocative headlines in the
process.

The TV business always has been reactionary, so when something works,
others immediately look for ways to replicate it. ABC, NBC and CBS all
have classic sitcom revivals featuring the original casts on deck with Roseanne, Will & Grace and CBS’ upcoming Murphy Brown....

Meanwhile, if Roseanne continues to be a ratings juggernaut, ABC, which is close to renewing the revival for a second season, should look into bringing back its other big blue-collar sitcom hit of the 1990s, Home Improvement, which starred another open Trump sympathizer, Tim Allen.

ABC was strongly criticized by the right in May when it canceled Allen’s long-running sitcom Last Man Standing
despite its strong viewership. It was a rare broadcast comedy with a
central character who is a political conservative and devout Christian
adhering to traditional American values that appeals to viewers in the
Heartland.